Extension activities: Language focus 1

Informal language
Time and tense

Informal language

Have students take a closer look at the style of language used in Emi’s weblog (blog) about her visit to Monas.

This text uses some elements of informal Indonesian speech. A weblog is much like a diary entry but in the public domain. Most weblogs have a chatty style as if talking personally to the reader and inviting them to respond.

Explain to students that they don’t need to know how to use informal Indonesian language at this level but should be starting to recognise some elements when they see them.

Ask students if they can identify any elements of informal language use in Emi’s blog. You may need to point some out to them. List them as they contribute. See if students can use surrounding text to infer meaning. Assist them where necessary using the list below:

• dong indicates a strong command (in this context)
• deh encourages someone to do something (in this context)
• ibubapak for parents (instead of orang tua)
• sama meaning 'with' (instead of dengan)
• balas meaning 'to reply' (without use of prefix mem- or ber- . Dropping prefixes is common in informal speech)
• no use of 'pada' before 'Hari Sabtu' makes it less formal
   

Discuss with students the idea that we change the type of language we use depending on who we are communicating with. At times we write and speak more formally and at other times we use much more informal language.

Ask students to think about the language they would use when writing in the following contexts, and what differences there might be:

• an SMS to a friend
• a birthday card to a grandparent
• a letter to a school principal
• a note left for parents
   

What influences the language we use for writing?
How might this have changed in the last 100 years?
How might this change in the future?

See the Reflection section for discussion of the Monas and other constructed nationalist sites in national culture.

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Time and tense

Saying when
In the Pinisi texts we can see the phrases 'pada zaman dahulu' (in the past) and 'dewasa ini' (these days). These could be used to introduce students to more vocabulary to do with time.

Task
Have students work in pairs using Pintu Indonesia as a resource, to search for words/phrases to do with time. Compile the list as students find them. With dictionaries and your assistance, have students find meanings for the words on the list.

Some more commonly used words and phrases for saying when something happens are listed below. These could be used to supplement the students’ own suggestions.

• pada masa yang lalu = in the past
• dahulu = previously
• tahun yang lalu = last year
• bulan yang lalu = last month
• masa kini = nowadays
• masa sekarang = these days
• tadi malam = last night
• kemarin = yesterday
• hari ini = today
• nanti siang = later this afternoon
• nanti malam = later tonight
• besok = tomorrow
• lusa = the day after tomorrow
• minggu depan = next week
• bulan yang akan datang = next month
• pada masa depan = in the future
   

Draw a long horizontal line on the board or on a length of butchers paper. Have students place words/phrases to do with time along a continuum/timeline with past on the left hand side, present in the centre and future on the right. The ‘timeline’ can be displayed for future reference.

There is a comprehensive list of words related to time in The Learner’s Dictionary of Today’s Indonesian, pg 512. (See Offline resources section).

Tense
Write the Indonesian sentence 'Toni berenang di laut.' on the board. Ask students, What does this sentence mean? Do we know when the swimming happened? Could this sentence mean Toni was swimming, Toni is swimming, or Toni will go swimming?

Explain to students that until we put a phrase in there which tells exactly when the action happened, we don’t know if this is in past, present or future tense. Compare with what happens in English. Ask students what would happen if we took out 'time words'.

Students should be able to deduce that Indonesian verbs don’t change to indicate tense, and that’s why in Bahasa Indonesia we have to use specific words or phrases which tell when something happened. Whether telling a story, writing a recount or a diary entry, we need to set the time frame for the audience.

For discussion
Ask students, I wonder why Bahasa Indonesia doesn’t have verbs that change to indicate tense? There is no definitive answer here, just encourage students to think and talk about how languages vary. Talk about how language usually reflects something about the culture of the people who speak it.

Introduce the Indonesian term Jam karet (rubber / flexible time). Then generate discussion with the following questions:
       
How might this term reflect something about Indonesian culture?
Do you think there will always be the concept of 'jam karet' in Indonesia?
What influences could change this?
Do you know of any other cultures where the concept of time is different to your own?
What do you think influences different concepts of time in different cultures?

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